Dom Dwyer and Chris Mueller were on target as Orlando City SC rolled out as 2-0 easy winners over a listless Philadelphia Union squad Friday.

Dwyer tallied in the 38th minute after a clever pass from Sacha Kljestan sprung the striker behind the Union backline. Mueller doubled the visitors’ advantage just before the half, pouncing on a fortunate bounce and sliding a shot past Andre Blake.

Jim Curtin made no changes to the team that drew with San Jose last Saturday.

Orlando had the first chance of the game in the 10th minute. After the Union failed to clear their lines completely after an Orlando corner, Yoshimar Yotun crossed a ball from the right side that Stefano Pinho met at the penalty spot. The shot beat Andre Blake, but Jack Elliott was on hand to save off the line and clear.

The Union had a chance of their own in the 12th minute. David Accam got loose on the left side and squared a ball toward C.J. Sapong, but the striker couldn’t get his feet right and fanned on the shot, which rolled through to Fafa Picualt. The winger scuffed his shot, and it rolled wide of goal.

Accam was on the attack again down the right side in the 17th minute. The speedy winger drove into the box with the ball after a 40 yard run, drifting past two defenders before firing a low shot toward Joe Bendik’s near post that the goalkeeper did well to push away.

Accam would have another chance to open the scoring in the 26th minute. Sapong did well to hold the ball up 30 yards from goal before springing Accam with a good pass through the channel down the left. The winger’s first touch took him a little bit wide, and his shot from eight yards flew into the side netting at the near post.

Orlando took the lead in the 38th minute through Dom Dwyer. Sacha Kljestan popped a ball over the Union backline as Dwyer tried to hold his run and beat the offside trap. The striker took a touch to control the ball and finished smoothly off the left post past Blake. It was Dwyer’s fourth goal in three games, giving him one more than the entire Union roster.

Orlando doubled their lead in the 45th minute. Chris Mueller drove at the Union backline with the ball, drifting past Matt Real, but after Jack Elliott stepped up to thwart the attack, his attempted clearance hit Real and fell into the path of Mueller, who made no mistake firing past Blake from 16 yards out.

Picault had a good chance to pull a goal back for the Union in the 55th minute. Dockal released the winger down the right side with a well-weighted pass, but Picault could not beat the onrushing Bendik, who did well to save from close range.

Union homegrown defender Mark McKenzie made his MLS debut, coming on in the 52nd minute to replace an injured Jack Elliott. Jim Curtin did not have an update on Elliott after the match.

Ilsinho and Jay Simpson were introduced for Picault and Accam respectively as Philadelphia looked for a way back into the match, but neither found a way to influence the match.

The announced attendance was 16,043 but again the stadium looked like it had under 10,000 people. Philadelphia is next in action when they travel to Dallas next Saturday (8 p.m.)

Three Points

Lack of attack. The Union have three goals in five games, with only one of the goals coming against 11 men. Even with the chances created in the last two matches, the lack of scoring is a clear problem.

Young defense. The young Union backline looked like a young backline tonight. Keegan Rosenberry and Matt Real both looked poor on the wings and Jack Elliott/Mark McKenzie/Auston Trusty weren’t at their strongest either.

Poor Start. Most people said the Union would have to have a strong start to the season to be competitive in the Eastern Conference. With only one win in their first five and only one win in four home matches, the season might be slipping away, and it’s not even May.

@DaveZeitlin Three-quarters of the defense can’t even legally drink. The attack and midfield is made up of all veterans. Pretty clear who needs to step up to turn this game and season around.‏

@thegoalkeeper With all due respect to the scoreline, nothing about this game has convinced me that Orlando is any good. But it has convinced me that if you switched Dwyer and Sapong, the Union would be running away with the game. #PHIvORL

its as simple as this…. when the best thing to happen in a game is the round of applause the crowd gives because of a dive in the box the draws an embellishment yellow for the guy killing you… there is nothing more to really offer, to invent, to bend words or wrap the mind around anymore.
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let us continue to apologize for this team, – continue to find ways to say: its close or this or that, they’re rounding into , they’re controlling the, …. when in reality, the style and philosophy of play is archaic.
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I particularly enjoy when the 6 has the ball….when nobody is in the middle space, when no body is moving, when 4 Union players are in a straight line across the defenders…standing there, doing— nothing- watching as though its an eclipse.
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you can continue to apologize I’ll continue to call it what it is. Unacceptable.

It’s so striking when you watch Dwyer on the other team constantly in motion, varying his runs, checking in, peeling off, making near post runs, pushing the defensive line deeper and dragging defenders around to open space for his teammates….
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….and then you see Sapong, Simpson/Accam, Picault all standing even with the back line waiting for a hopeful/hopeless cross…
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So frustrating.

El Pachy
1. Not a single punt from Blake or sidewinder. He went to other extreme…every time soft kick, throw or roll to rb or lb
Kept wishing he would mix it up. Bendix had a few nice punts that broke up what offensive pressure union brought.
2. Too much possession. I realize I have committed cardinal sin saying that. But they kept passing it negatively, rarely pushing to final third, especially 2nd half.
Without purpose, without teeth.
They played way you’ve been asking past three years, from the back with possession…not just today but this season. Increased possession, higher number of passes, high pass accuracy, no punts, building from back.
But no teeth, no spirit. No cure.
Boring soccer.
And for the life of me…can someone on team figure out how to score on a corner?
UnionGoal

I agree, it didn’t seem like a single player (except maaaayyybe Bedoya and Ilsinho) had any desire or emotion to try to push to score a goal. You are losing. At home. Again. At least act like you are trying for the 10,000(?) fans that showed up

1. You are 100% correct about the goalkeeper. It has been nice watching him. I’m hoping it is his new norm.
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2. For me, this team seeks to find too much space which causes a great deal of the negative possession. Teammates are simply strung so far apart from one another it is rare to see a coordinated, passive, slow build up of play in middle of the field. which then turns into a quick one two behind or over top the defense. The only real off ball movement seems to be negative check back to the ball, of which almost nobody is then moving into the space vacated by that player. They are unable to pull and manipulate the defense one way or the other (and lord knows they almost never intentionally pull the defense forward to create space behind the first or second line of defense— over and over the entire team is spaced across the whole field when the ball is central but no body other than the ball carrier is also central.
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I would love a stat that measures length of passes because there is almost NEVER a small sided 4v2 any where on the field…space is finite and whoever uses it wisest and with intention to exploit wins. It is abundantly clear Jim Curtin and I guess Earnie Stewart do not value space in the way I wish they would and is becoming more and more of the norm in global footy.
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Seldom ever we see the Union with aggressive numbers up in a specific sector of the field, looking to drag a CM or HDM or striker just a bit further into channel.
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I don’t get it.

Pachy – #2 in your above post is spot on. They only put the defense under pressure vertically, never horizontally. It needs to be both. Teams are willing to concede possession if it’s in non-threatening areas so they can keep their defense in proper balance. It’s rare that the Union can get the defense out of position and often lose their patience before sending in a cross or a ball over the top.

Uniongoal, i for the most part, disagree. They are nowhere close to being a possession minded team. They lack the ability of movement and to be patient with the ball. They’ve been the high press team that Curtin wants them to be for years now. Look how that’s turned out. The results have been the same. You can say possession minded is boring but when A team knows how to use possession when going forward it could be game changing and effective. They will have more goal scoring chances with purpose as well. It would make life a lot easier for the three midfielders in the middle of the pitch too. I do agree that they lack teeth and spirit atm.

El pachy,
1 Orlando pressed well second half ..other than that cross ending two of our players sliding into the goal but not the ball and the dozen corner replays…very few times any one crossed mid and didn’t attract the white swarm.
As for Blake…I agreed before he needed to distribute better but starting everything out of the back really slowed down our offense and our defense was about 50-50 getting it past mid from the back. Mix it up. A sidewinder to a wing or a punt when their defense was out of synch would have helped.
Also…Barca vs real, Liverpool vs man city, arsenal vs bayern…possession vs counterattack isn’t guaranteed outcome.
Coach and team adjusting during game wins games.
UnionGoal

You know what it’s like: it’s like Curtin reads this website… sees legitimate and accurate criticism regarding kick and chase, lack of possession, etc… then spends every waking minute instructing guys to fix one of those things… while ignoring everything else.
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So now all the sudden this team can possess, Blake isn’t punting (which is mostly a good thing)… but we have no emotion, can’t score worth a shit, and are AGAIN in danger of being irrelevant by Memorial Day.
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On paper this is either the best or second best team the Union have ever fielded. THIS DISGRACE OF A SEASON (so far) IS ON CURTIN. HE HAS TO GO.

Brutal. This team is just so god damn brutal. I can’t say anything that hasn’t already been or won’t be said. Fire Curtin and bring someone in who will try something to get guys going. I don’t know. Anything please. PLEASE!!

if everything breaks right all season, this team has an outside chance to squeak into the playoffs at the 6th seed.
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If they keep dropping points at home, they’ve already shown last season they can’t win on the road and have no chance at the playoffs.
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Now I’m depressed that our “ceiling” is 6th place

First, Dwyer was offside. Second, the formation and personnel are designed specifically for the East-West that dominated the night. There is nothing about the lone striker that is positive ; it pulls defenders too far forward, it allows multiple defenders to sag on that striker and puts too many defensive bodies between the ball and the goal. By the middle of the second half, Ilsinho was wandering to the point that it looked like he had switched sides.( In fact, at one point, the entire Union formation was on our side of the field in 109. I wasn’t sure whether they wanted to say hello to Kleberson, who was sitting behind me.) That was dreck. I have rarely been so disgusted with this team. Something must give- formation, coach, or my sanity. At least they are getting a mascot.

My instinct was exact same, but Dwyer was perfectly held on-sides by Matt Real, who was so far behind his other 3 defensive mates the naked eye in real time likely didn’t even register him.
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watched it multiple times on TV.

Jim will stick with his players, no matter what, (job security). Seems like the midfielders and strikers will be penciled, until they ‘gel’. They should gain chemistry during the week and execute game day. Nobody’s job should be guaranteed, what I don’t see from this team is passion. If the starters know there’s a possibility they will be benched maybe they will gain some passion. No doubt in my mind Jim feels those are his strongest 11 for his system. But at some point he has to realize something needs to change and it’s frustrating the fan base! It’s getting to a point of insanity, the Union for not changing something, or me for still believing and supporting! Ugh!

Our young defense made mistakes that a young defense is bound to make.
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What’s frustrating is that six midfielders/forward who have represented their national teams, including three midfielders who have CAPTAINED their national teams, can’t seem to figure out what to do in the final third.
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Dockal doesn’t seem up for creating anything, not in combination play and not in beating his man on the dribble or at the very least to get himself half a yard to take a shot or find a teammate.

3 more observations…
Jack Elliott played very well. Any status on his injury? Surprised he came on field for 2ND half…unlike Orlando players he stayed tough although ankle appeared twisted on that clearance.
Matt Real…both goals he shares blame…first keeping Dom onside, second running or_pushed into jack. I’m happy if he spends a month or two with Steel.
Last, refs really hate Sapong. Defenses know he has a “kick me” sign on his back…knock him to hell, trip him, yank on him with both hands and he NEVER gets a call.
UnionGoal

Jim Curtin needs to be gone this week. This level of abysmal play with no visible sign of improvement has gone on too long. If the Sporting Director is unwilling to pull the trigger than he can go too. Seats should be empty if Curtin still has a job.

Amen. Curtin has to go now. It can’t be any worse.Ernie should step in until they get a real coach. just awful with no hope of improvement in sight with current staff. In the words of our fearless leader ” So Sad “

when the Bosnian Midfielder echoes in his post game comments many of the very things I’ve (we) been railing on about recently… (since Jim Curtin took over)….
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I feel pretty. Oh so pretty.
I feel pretty and witty and bright.
And I pity
Any girl who isn’t me tonight.

That we have put all our eggs in the CJ sapong basket is Damning. He needs to not play next game, or at least not a guaranteed 90 mins. Problem is we have no one else. This is who the team is. Sit back and look at these players in this formation, because that is what you will watch all year. Curtin must be gone sooner than later.

You can rail on tactics, formation, effort, the lineup, anything you want… there has been one constant the last few years. Until Curtin goes, this is what we will get. Dude must have pictures of someone important with their mistress.

Curtin was completely outcoached this weekend. When the talented Union came out strong in front of the home crowd it only took Orlando’s coach Freis one move to unravel Curtin. Orlando’s substitution at ’29 taking out defender RJ Allen and putting in a destroyer Christian Higuita completely flummoxed Jim Curtin and his stubborn coaching tactics. Years ago we should have been playing possession. Finally we do but with back line of teenagers. Maybe several years from now Curtin will be able to respond to early tactical substitutions from opposing coaches…

Just listen to Medujnanin’s post game presser. He was spot on. They need to be more patient going forward when winning or losing. They force the ball down the field and they don’t connect from the defense to Midfield to offense. They need to start playing short ball, especially in the final third. When they are down in matches they panic. Rosenberry’s And CJ’s touch was off last night. They didn’t step up on Sasha K, unacceptable. I’m sick of seeing Curtin standing In the coaches box with no emotion or direction towards players during the game. He’ll never change tactics, Ex : Jay Simpson. Sapong needs another forward working up top with him. He’s a holding forward. He’s not going to take on defenders one on one frequently. Everyone needs to be moving without the ball. Moving into space and supporting the player who has the ball. They lack this type of movement it needs to be quicker and needs to be better. They need to stop running away from the play expecting long balls all game. They Need to learn patience and to connect from the defense through the midfield to the offense by possession not forcing the ball down the field. By being patient the opportunities and goals will come. It won’t happen by thinking your best chances will come from 50/50 crosses into the box. Some crosses into the box were granted but they need to cut the ball back more and find the 18. Curtin needs to be let go emmediatly. Since he won’t change anything via players, formation, tactics, then the FO (Stewart) needs to change who is managing this team.

Curtin mentioned in the presser that we gave it all we had and played well ???! What the fuck are you watching ? We have the talent but this is not basketball or ice hockey or tennis when one individual can change a game with a darting run on goal ….this team is coached to play long ball and look for services only ….someone please get me the unions stats on goals from services out wide goals per services …every team that beats us plays patient and on the fucking floor …DROP THE CURTIN!!!!!!!

I have little to add to what has been said above except this: CJ Sapong is not the problem. Yes, he was late on a few crosses, but he does so much on this team, including drawing two to three defenders every time the ball is played to his feet. Often he’s able to set a teammate up…. His lay off to Bedoya in the second half was fantastic. If only anyone on this squad could score.
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The problem is these players have been put in a system they can’t play. Some of it is talent, some of it is lacking experience…. I insist, thought that another coach gets more out of this team. Much more.

I am not critical of CJ himself, but of the entire formation. How does it make sense to have as your target the man that is covered by three defenders as you describe? There is, automatically, a mass of four bodies there every time the ball is played to him. Sure, he is strong and posts up like a fiend, but there is nothing that he can do but suffer while he is suffocated by that coverage, and we hope that a wing or a midfielder can get there to help. Until there is a reliable and aggressive wing or attacking mid that will cause the defenses to at least lean in his direction, then we will be able to see how his lay-offs are. Now, it is difficult to tell if they are intentional or simply lucky losses of possession in a beneficial direction. (That to Bedoya last night was very nice, I will admit.) Change the shape.

I am a founding member and have NEVER/EVER missed going to a home game (less just recently due to health concerns) and always watch the away games, even pre season streamed games. I bleed soccer, I played through my 30’s for the love of the game. Last night I REFUSED to watch the second half (with malice), the first time EVER, since I knew the coach KEEPING his same GAME PLAN IN PLACE, while standing on the side line with his “question mark blank stare”, making LATE subs that would NOT impact the game let alone the outcome. This madness MUST STOP IMMEDIATELY… ES for the love of the sport and the most passionate and educated soccer fans in the MLS, DO WHAT YOU KNOW YOU MUST DO… My scales have now tipped to 90/10 that dropping season tickets is now a harsh reality… Hell if there could be a refund applied I would be FIRST in line!!! Why should I support a club that REPEATEDLY makes the same mistakes OVER & OVER & OVER & OVER & OVER & OVER & OVER & OVER???????? Sad, very sad that as such dedicated fans we get treated like this… DO IT ES, PULL THE TRIGGER, an old bag of soccer balls placed at the mid-field sideline would be a better decision at this point… AAAAGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Might be that ES leaves soon himself. Then they’ll keep Curtin just to have some continuity. Curtin has to have one of the worst records in the league over such a long time period.
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We have some decent to good players right now, there’s just no adaptation. To those who love CJ, you have to hate the coach, he doesn’t use CJ yo any of his strengths for the team. Just lump it forward and across and hope for the best.

CJ is not an attacking high press, taking on defenders one on one, kind of forward that Curtin is playing him as. . He’s a hold up forward and likes to fight for balls In the 18 and 6. He needs a second attacking forward with him giving that responsibility to picault, Accam, or Dockal is giving them too much responsibility and It’s just not a reality with how this teams chemistry is sparse. Once again, they should’ve kept Alberg and made him into the attacking forward that was desperately needed last year. CJ and Alberg up too together could have been a powerful force offensively. Having CJ collect and hold the ball distributing to Alberg to take shots on goal. What were CJ’s best years? Oh yeah, when he was with Kansas City. Correct me if I’m wrong but, I believe it was when they had Kamara and CJ up top. I Believe that Dou won an MLS cup together?

Curtin is a “Philly guy?” Don’t care. We are going on four years of rock-solid mediocrity, without a whiff of a playoff run. It took him a year to figure out what to do with Bedoya. A year! The youth academy is producing a pipeline of local players? Don’t care. This backline is going to kill us, especially with no goals up front, and if I’m Blake I start seriously thinking about my next move before my GAA starts to hurt my marketability.

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What are we good at? Social media. Nobody can lay claim to sharp pre-match graphics, with glaring players folding their arms, like the Union. When it comes to Facebook posts, we are the undisputed champions.

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I always felt that we had a slim margin for error putting a shiny new stadium in a downtrodden area, difficult to reach and nothing much to do before or after the match. The enthusiasm of those first few seasons – Seba, Ruiz, Jack Mac, etc. – had to be maintained. Whether deliberately or not, ownership blew it. (Perhaps that’s why Curtin stays: he’s the perfect foil to empty out the stands and let Sugarman exercise the $10mm buyout.)

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Whatever the reasons, I’m done. I live in Seattle now and there’s a perfectly competent and well-supported franchise literally ten minutes from my house. I won’t have to pay for Direct Kick again, or gaze with embarrassment at a half-empty stadium on national TV. I will box up my gear – sharp new track jacket and all – and send it to the front office. Maybe Jeremy or whomever it was from the 610 who called me repeatedly to re-up for season tickets will find it all fits.

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It’s not easy to get Philadelphia sports fans, wherever they live, to stop caring, especially with what the Eagles did this year. Give us a reason to love and to hope and you will get it back in spades.

I know ticket sales are higher than in-house attendance, but there couldn’t be more than 24k total at Talen over the first 3 home matches. They can’t be making much from food, merchandise, etc. What will it take to force some kind of change?

Jim Curtin is the problem… there’s no excuse that we can’t score a goal against one of the worst D lines in the league. C.J. is terrible he can’t dribble and loses the ball when he touches. it all he can do is tap the ball in from the 6 which he can barely do. Not to mention u don’t even put Burke in the 18 and instead put the guy who only works in a 2 striker system which Curtin refuses to play in. Until this team gets a real striker(which is never Bc theylove C.J. and signed him to a huge deal) they will never be good.

If attendance is in the lower 20% 2 years in a row (which it is) the team can give Chester 10 million and move wherever they want (like Austin or Nashville). There’s lots of great articles on this site about it.

This Is why I’m still a season ticket holder and a die hard fan till the end. Idk about anyone else but, i don’t want this team to be relocated. All the blood, sweat, and tears would be for nothing. Fuck that.

If they move the team/ franchise out of Philadelphia I’m not supporting any MLS anything! The fans made this happen. And I am eternally grateful for the passion to do so. But to move this team,brought here by the urging of fans,out of the market would be a hard pill to swallow!!

I highly doubt Sugarman will move this team, even with that buyout clause. He’s invested too much in the academy, BSFC and the new training facility. If he moves, he won’t recoup that investment. And unless there’s a city willing to float the startup cash to do the same things, in their town, I doubt Sugarman has the money to start over.
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Curtin won’t be going anywhere till mid season either. He’ll get enough rope to completely hang himself. At which point, I bet one of the new assistant coaching hires will take the reigns, and money will be freed up to sign someone in the summer window. I predicted this months ago, and it seems to be falling into place. SMH.
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I pretty much echo what’s been said already about Curtin and his subs/tactics. It’s like groundhog day all over again. Rinse and repeat. I won’t get on the backline, because we knew they were going to make mistakes and there would be growing pains. Most of us said we would accept this, so I won’t go back on that now. If the other half of the team did their job, the young back line would hardly be an issue at all.
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As for all the people saying they weren’t playing with heart, we didn’t watch the same game. Guys were getting pissed out there. Bedoya(though not as much as other games), Dockal, Rosenberry got into it with the ref, and even Accam were yelling at people. Heart isn’t the problem, it’s cohesion. They still haven’t gelled yet. Can the team wait much longer? Hell no. But that’s how it is ATM.
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My biggest fears concern Accam and Dockal. At some point they are going to start thinking to themselves why the hell did I sign here. And they’d be right.
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Curtains for Curtin? Not nearly close enough I’m afraid. Another lost season in Chester.

The academy could be picked up and put anywhere in the world. You’d lose some players, ur you could probably retain most if not all of staff. And Bethlehem could literally play in Quebec, they are a professional team. And when new city builds a shiny new stadium with tax payer dollars and then sugarman sells like the dc owners, well I’m sure he’ll increase his investment 10 fold. He’s not worried about recouping shit.

The comment about the academy is ridiculous. An academy is as much about the connection to the first team as it is a business that can be picked up and moved. This area is one of the strongest youth soccer locations in the country and you won’t get the same out of the academy in a backwater like Nashville or Austin.

Sugarman’s parent company is in N.Y., right? So is he really going to move the team halfway across the country? The league isn’t going to put another team in New York. N.J. is out. Columbus, maybe if the Crew do end up moving. Look, I understand the clause is there for a reason, but I think it was more in case of the league or the franchise failing all together. The fans have proven it can be a profitable market and there’s money too be had. I really find it hard to believe that for Sugarman the pluses outweigh the minuses when it comes to moving the franchise.

I am not worried about the team being moved. This is not Columbus. This is one of the largest metro areas and TV markets in the country, and one of the biggest sports towns in the US. The league is not abandoning Philadelphia.
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At some point it becomes our duty as fans to stay home and force the franchise to change its ways. Personally I’m at the point where I don’t even watch the games on TV if I have something else to do. And that’s after being a die-hard fan since the first home game.
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Enough is enough.

The new European assistant coach that was just announced…I really feel he’s the guy that they brought in to replace Curtin.
But I could also see them bringing up Burke from Steel. Knows the players, and formation/strategy adjustments are made per opponent and first team call up regularly. Both are inexpensive compared to market too

We need a miracle to save this season. An investor willing to buy Sugarman out hire a new coach with a good pro track record or a college top flight coach the quality of Caleb Porter willing to plan and exucute the most appropriate strategy for this group of players. Then add a DP forward this summer to compliment Sapong. Use a formation with 2 forwards. Like I said it would. be a miracle.